Motion damper and shock absorber



Sept' 12v G; BRouLHu-:T 1,926,260

MOTION DAMPER' AND SHOCK ABSORBER Filed Oct. 15, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 78 32 l' mail/1 /e Sept. l2, 1933. G. BROULHIET KOTION DAMPER AND SHOCK ABSORBER Filed oct. 15,. 1931 s sheets-sheet 2 Fig ga 1a Sept. 12, 1933. Q BROULHlE-r 17,926,260

IOTION DAMPER AND SHOCK ABSORBER Filed 061'.. 15, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Eze-4 graal/91.331

, l Ww@ Patented Sept. 12, 1933 l UNITE'DSTATES PATENT OFFICE? MofrIoN DAMPERVAND'SHOCKABSORBER -g Y A Georges BroulhieLwParis, France andin France October 24, 1930 Application october 15, 1931, serial'No. i569,059

. s Claims. (Cl. 18s- 89) damping device, in which theresistance to mo` tion is strictly proportional to the speed of displacement of the suspended mass', this insuring the damping of the motion in the rst quarter of the oscillation, Whatever may be the amplitude of the displacement with respect to `the position of equilibrium, the damping force being Zerowhen the speed is zero.

The damping device according to my invention comprises a piston and a cylinder, the relative displacement of which is, through their construction, proportional to the displacement of the suspended mass whose movement is Vto be made aperiodic. Either a cylindrical piston, or a cirf cular shutter, or any other Vorgan equivalentl to al piston forcing a liquid lthrough a given oriiice may be employed. The instantaneous output of such a'device is proportional to thefinstantaneous speed of displacement of the piston, or similar organ, so that, by regulating the output, the speed viz.A the desired damping, may be regulated.

Said output Q is the product of the ilow section` S and the velocity of flow V. Q=V S.

It is well known that the velocity of flow V,

tional to the square rootof pressure h.

V=K/1T,

K being a constant factor,

If, in particular, the flow section S be propor-` tional to the square root of pressure h, then: q

ing to my invention makes it possible to produce a resistance to displacement startingfrom Vzero scale, of the piston alone; of displacement ofthe piston, or similarorgam through an orifice of constant section, is propor@ value, or, evenfrom ya'given positive value, When "t l the speed of displacement is zero, and increasev ing with the speed, according to a predetermined law, continuously andwithout limitation, or as the case may be, up to a predetermined limit. 'l 60 A remarkable feature of the damping device according to my inventiomof the type above mentioned, viz. comprisinga piston, or amovf able Wall, discharginga liquid, lies in 'the fact that. the device is so arranged that, in both di- Y rections of displacement of thepiston, orl similar organ, the flow section of the liquid varies according to a formula s= Kw/i 1 i or according to any other increasingfunction ofv the-flowpressure to be obtained. v

Preferred embodiments of my invention Will be hereinafter described'with reference to the accompanyingdr'awing's, given lrnerelyloy way of example and in which: v 'l Fig. 1f is a diagrammatic elevational view, on a small scale, .of two: damping devices, according to my invention, iitted to a motor car; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of one 'of said Vdamping devices; Fig. 3 is a planview of thelsame; 5 Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view, on a larger Fig. 5 is a cross section ofthe piston'alone, on 85 the same scale as Fig. 4;

Figs. 6 to 8 lare diagrammatic views which showthe proper distribution of the outletsalong each valve piston o f the above mentioned damp-r ing device; Y

Fig. 9 is a sectional view'of another embodigment of my invention, comprising a shutter.

As shown .in Fig. 1, each dampingdevice comprises a frame, which is secured to the chassis of the carin any appropriate manner, -for Vex. ample, by bolts 2 extending. throughoutframe 1 (Fig.2). Y

In Fig. 2, frame 1 comprises" a cylinder 4, on the topk of Vwhich is Vplaced a chamber 5which contains a reserve of liquid. A piston 6 is tted 100 in cylinder 4, said-piston being provided with a central recess '7, below which is bored a hole 8 containing a cylindrical part 9, which serves las a joint. Part 9 is provided with a bore 10, in which the extremity of alever 1l is freely-en- 105 gaged. Said lever ll extends through recess? and is keyed to a spindle 12, located in the upper part of the frame, and extends across chamber 5. 'OnV said VVspindle 12,-and on the outside of the frame; another lever `13 is keyed, which is parallel 110' 2 to the frame and is provided, at its extremity, with a ring 14, connected by a suitable connecting rod,

which is visible in Fig. 1, with axle E ofthe car.

In the body of piston 6 (Fig. 4) and lon either side of its axis, are bored two series of holes of increasing diameters, 15a, 15b, v15C andv 16d, 16h, 16C, the position ofwhich is reversed with respect to one of the faces of the piston. In other words,

v hole 15a of the smallest section of one'series is located on the same side as hole 16e of the largest section of the other series.

The shoulders formed between bores 15b and` 15c in one of the passages, 16h and 16c' in' the other,l act Vas stops for two identical valve pistons 17 and 18, tting without play in bores 15b and 16D. Said pistons 17 and 18 are provided withk blind bores 19 and 20, into which-open a series of unevenly distributed apertures 2l and 22, extending throughout the lateral walls of said pistons. Said apertures 21 and v22may.be, for instance, as shown in Fig. 4, at an increasing distance from each other, when going from the bottom of blind bores 19 'and 20 toward their ex- "with 'the axis of abscissaa tremity. v

To obtain` the desired condition:

, S-Kv whichensures a resistance proportionalto the speed, a spacing of apertures 21 and 22 accord.- ing to a parabolic law has been adopted'in the example shown, that is rto the distances of say, saidapertures vto a common origin are propor- `tional to the abscissae .r of points of a parabola whose ordinates y arev in arithmeticall progression, the focal axis of said parabola coinciding if it is desired than the rsista'nee'to the now of liquid should be proportional to the speed only v Within a certainrange of pressures, some ofthe 4o.

apertures may be arranged according to a para- .bolic law of spacing, the corresponding diagram being a parabolic arc, connected, by a more or less curved arcv (Fig. 7), with a line parallel with Y the ordinates ys Said curved'linecorresponds to aportion ofthe pistons wherethe aperturesare disposed closer to each otherA than they would be if the parabolic law were. applied Vto all Vapertures; l d' If the resistance tothe flow of liquid vshould possess initially a certainpositive value, the distances of the apertures to their common origin will be represented by a curve (Fig; 8) the origin of which is at acertain distance from the origin of the axis ow, oy o1' coordinates.

Standard springs 23 and 24, free Yfrom tension When-'at rest, are located in holes 15o' and 16e, beyond pistons `17 and 18, which move in opposite directions (Fig. 1); The extremities of said holes 15e and 16e are screw-threaded and provided with Stoppers 25 and 26, provided with pas- It will be readily understood that, as piston 17 -l or 18-moves forward in hole 15b or 16h, a connection will be established between apertures 15a and 27, or 16u and V28,- through apertures 2101' 22k of the piston in question.

The device Works as follows: when the axle,y of the car` is displaced with respect to the chassis,

levers 11 and 13 oscillate together and piston 6 is displaced in cylinderl, which contains a liquid,

such as oil for instance-(Fig. 2).

If piston 6 is displaced from right to leftv (Fig. 4) the increasing pressure on its left side pushes Vforward valve piston 17 in groove 15b, thus overcoming the resistance of spring 23, and the liquid Which'passes through the piston is transferred on its right hand side, thereverse taking place when the piston is displaced from left tori'ght.

`Spring 23 or 24 regulates, by its compression,

closes apertures 2l or 22,' the number and spacing of which-regulate the section of flow of the liquid as a function'of thedisplacement and, therefore, ofthe pressurewhich Vis proportional to said displacement. Y

Anv aperiodic damping is thusobtained, both as regards the oscillating motion of the axlewith respect to the chassis andthejspringing motion of the wheels on the ground.

Instead of being placed in the body of piston 6, valve pistons 17 and 18 may be located in passages bored through the cylinder frame. f

rt is preferable to establish the Yconnection through the body of the piston, inthe case of a cylinder and a piston, and through the frame of the cylinder when a shutter is employed, as shown inFigQ.` Y Y AIn the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, shutter is keyed topivoting axis 12 of lever 13.

v`Vertical passages 31 and 32 open respectively into cavities 4a and 4b of cylinder 4, said cavities being separated from one another by partition 4c and shuttero. Vertical passages 31 land 43 2 may beconnected with oneanother .according to the direction ofthe rotary movement of the shutter, through one -or the other of valve pistons 17 and 18,v provided with apertures 21 and 22 and locatedin transversal stepped holes 15a, 15b, 15e

. and 16a, 1Gb, 16e respectively, as in the first embodiment. The displacements of valve pistons 17 and 18 are .opposed,'as in the J iirs't embodiment, by

standard springs 23 and 24, the tension of which is zero when at rest.

The device works as in the first embodiment, the only'difference consisting in that the liquid is displacedby means a rotary shutter, instead of being displaced through a piston moving in a `ing'two valvemembers arranged invsaid passages and subjected to the fluid pressures in said chambers, land flexible means counteracting said fluid pressures respectively, whereby relatively small variations of the fluid pressure will cause relatively ,great displacements ofsaid valvel members, said valve'members being provided with fluid port means so arranged as to-ofier a variable iiow ifo section, in response to the fluid pressures in said chambers.

2. A motion damper, particularly adapted as shock absorber for the suspension of motor vehicles, comprising a fluid tight casing adapted to contain a fluid, a movable `wall adapted to divide said casing into two chambers, two fluid passages between said chambers, and means for controlling the ow of uid through said passages, embodying two valve members respectively arranged in said passages and subjected to the fluid pressures in said chambers and flexible springs counteracting said fluid pressures respectively, whereby relatively small variations of the fluid pressure will cause relatively great displacements of said Valve members, said valve members being provided with fluid port means so arranged as to offer a variable flow section, in response to the fluid pressures in said chambers.

3. A motion damper, particularly adapted as shock absorber for the suspension of motor vehicles, comprising a fluid tight casing adapted to contain a fluid, a movable wall adapted to divide said casing into two chambers, two fluid passages,

each comprising a small diameter bore and aV larger diameter bore, a hollow piston sli'dably arranged in each of said small diameter bores, the

closed end of said piston facing the larger bore,

fluid port means in the cylindrical wall of said pistons disposed along the length of said pistons and adapted to be closed by'the wall of said small diameter bore and to be gradually disclosed as said piston is moved by the fluid pressure into said larger bore whereby said fluid port means offer a ow section Variable with the fluid pressure, and flexible means for counteracting said fluid pressure.

4. A motion damper as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fluid port means are so arranged that the flow section varies as the square root of the fluid pressure. Y

5. A motion damper as claimed in claim 3, wherein said fluid port-means comprise unequally spaced holes. y

6. A motion damper as claimed in claim 3, wherein said uid port means comprise unequally spaced andv dimensioned holes.

7. A `motion damper as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fluid passages said movable wall.

8. A motion damper particularly adapted as shock absorber for the suspension of motor vehicles comprising a fluid tight cylindrical casing. adapted'to contain a fluid, a radial partition in are formed through f said casing, a lateral boss projecting from' said casing, a rotary blade pivoted in the axis of` said casing and adapted to be constantly in fluidtight Contact with said casing and partition, two fluid passages in said boss and connecting said chambers,` and means for controlling the flow of fluid through said passage, embodying two valve Ymembers respectively arranged in said passages 

